Massachusetts Supreme Court clarifies building code liability issue on mixed-use projects

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently ruled that distinct portions of a mixed-used building may be treated as distinct and different structures under the state building code. The ruling clarifies more than 40 years of sometimes contradictory decisions.

The case pertained to a resident of a mixed-use building who fell and was seriously injured when a guardrail on a staircase broke. A key question in the case was: “does a building containing both commercial and residential components fall entirely under the section of the state building code applying to commercial buildings?”

The court said that it was significant that resident's apartment wasn't in a commercial portion of the building with the staircase being separate from the commercial section of the structure. The court wrote: “In some cases, the term ‘building’ may encompass only a portion of a larger structure.”

(http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/news/2014/04/10/massachusetts-supreme-judicial-court-clarifies.html)

New York City has two very large buildings dedicated to answering the 911 calls of its five boroughs. With more than 11 million emergency calls annually, it makes perfect sense. The second of these buildings, the Public Safety Answering Center II (PSAC II) is located on a nine-acre parcel of land in the Bronx. It’s an imposing 450,000 square-foot structure—a 240-foot-wide by 240-foot-tall cube. The gleaming aluminum cube risesthe equivalent of 24 stories from behind a grassy berm, projecting the unlikely impression that it might actually be floating. Like most visually striking structures, the building has drawn as much scorn as it has admiration.